Syria gained its independence from France in 1946 after almost 30 years of French occupation following the end of WWI. The early years of the Syrian republic were very politically unstable with many governments and several constitutions. During these years the Syrian army became an important factor in the country, especially as a result of the many wars in which Syria was involved such as the 1948 Arab/Israeli war in which the Arab countries united to try to destroy Israel. The Arabs lost the war, starting a long history of conflict between Israel and Syria.
In 1949 Syria had a military coup which was lead by Hussni al-Zaim who was supported by the US. The coup failed and created very strong feelings against the US, and Syria became aligned with the USSR, starting an alliance that continues to the present.
United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic (Link)
In 1958, Syria and Egypt were united and became the United Arab Republic. One the reasons of Syria’s decision to join with Egypt was due to Cold War events during which Turkey threatened to
invade Syria. The other major reason was the rise of Arab Nationalism. Under the United Arab
Republic the army became more involved in the daily life of the people and there was more social and religious unity among the Arab countries. The United Arab Republic was dominated by Egypt and this created political and social discontent in Syria. In 1961 there was a bloodless military coup and Syria became an independent country again.
The Syrian Ba'ath Party
In 1963, Syria had a military coup lead by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath party. The new party made a new constitution that adopted things such as peasants and professional unions gaining more political representation. The first Ba’ath government was overthrown in 1966 by army officers who wanted to make radical changes to the Ba'ath party.
Golan Heights region (Link)
In 1967 during the Six Day War Syria attacked Israel but lost the war. Israel then occupied the Golan Heights, which continues to the present day. As a result of the war, the radical Ba'ath government was weakened. Throughout these years, Hafez al-Assad rose through the army and the Ba'ath party and became the minister of defense. In September 1970 Syria intervened militarily in Jordan supporting the Palestinian guerrillas fighting the Jordanian government. This created more divisions in the civilian and military wings of the Ba'ath party.
Takeover by Hafez al-Assad:
Hafez al-Assad (Link)
In November 1970, Hafez al-Assad took power in a bloodless military coup power by making the Ba'ath party the only political party in Syria and appointing his supporters in all sectors of the government. He built up the Syrian army, which had suffered many defeats in recent years, and increased ties with the USSR.. Assad then really set his Assad’s rule was very autocratic. He suppressed political opposition through violence and created a strong cult of personality to increase his power over the whole country.
Under Assad, Syria achieved political stability for the first time since its independence. As a result, there was economic growth and the living standards of the Syrian people on the rise (Orbach, "The Rise of Bashar al-Asad"). Assad also established a state separate from religion with Arab aspirations. This has important political and social implications. Politically, the government was tolerant of the Syrian Christian minority, and supported other non-religious Arab governments such as Iraq. Socially, the government gave free public education for boys and girls, women were allowed to work in the government, and women didn’t have to wear a veil in public.
Sunni vs. Shiite population
The political and social changes made by Assad created religious tensions with Syria’s 19 million population which had a higher percent of Sunni Muslims than Alawi Shiite Muslim (Kaplan, "Syria’s Ethnic and Religious Divisions"). The Assad family belongs to the Alawi, a Shiite Muslim sect. The few mostly Sunni Muslim countries are ruled by the Shiite minority, and so the Syrian Sunnis feel politically and socially oppressed by the Syrian Shiites.
Syria’s Involvement in foreign affairs:
In 1976 Syria intervened militarily in Lebanon’s civil war, starting a 30 year presence in Lebanon, initially supporting the Lebanese Christians, but then switching to support the Lebanese Shiites and Hezbollah (a Shiite militant group). Hafez al- Assad talks about why he invaded Lebanon in the speech he made in July 1976.Syria also became a strong ally of Iran, after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. Iran was a Shiite country and Syria was controlled by the Shiite minority, so they needed each other’s support. Syria also needed a strong military ally after Egypt made peace with Israel.
Syria then supported Iran in the Iran – Iraq war in the 1980s. Syria was the only Arab country on Iran’s side, which created many political tensions in the Arab world. During this period there were internal conflict in Syria when the Sunni Muslims, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, rose against the government. Assad responded with a violent repression of all opposition which resulted in 10,000 deaths in 1982. (Collelo, "The Assad Era")
Syria and Iran had many strategic interest in common in Lebanon (which was occupied by Syria), against Israel, and now against Iraq. Syria and Iran also became supporters of terrorism to achieve their goals.
Click for another Quote
The strong alliance between Syria and Iran continues to this day.
As we have seen, Syrian modern history has been impacted by interconnected global events such as the Cold War, the Israel Arab wars, the Palestinian conflict, the Iran revolution, and the Sunni/Shiite religious divide.
Videos
Here is a news section of a TV station in 1981 that talks about Syria's involvement in Lebanon:
Here is a video that goes over Syria's modern history:
Table of Contents
Syrian Republic: The Early Years
Syria gained its independence from France in 1946 after almost 30 years of French occupation following the end of WWI. The early years of the Syrian republic were very politically unstable with many governments and several constitutions. During these years the Syrian army became an important factor in the country, especially as a result of the many wars in which Syria was involved such as the 1948 Arab/Israeli war in which the Arab countries united to try to destroy Israel. The Arabs lost the war, starting a long history of conflict between Israel and Syria.
In 1949 Syria had a military coup which was lead by Hussni al-Zaim who was supported by the US. The coup failed and created very strong feelings against the US, and Syria became aligned with the USSR, starting an alliance that continues to the present.
United Arab Republic
In 1958, Syria and Egypt were united and became the United Arab Republic. One the reasons of Syria’s decision to join with Egypt was due to Cold War events during which Turkey threatened to
invade Syria. The other major reason was the rise of Arab Nationalism. Under the United Arab
Republic the army became more involved in the daily life of the people and there was more social and religious unity among the Arab countries. The United Arab Republic was dominated by Egypt and this created political and social discontent in Syria. In 1961 there was a bloodless military coup and Syria became an independent country again.
The Syrian Ba'ath Party
In 1963, Syria had a military coup lead by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath party. The new party made a new constitution that adopted things such as peasants and professional unions gaining more political representation. The first Ba’ath government was overthrown in 1966 by army officers who wanted to make radical changes to the Ba'ath party.
In 1967 during the Six Day War Syria attacked Israel but lost the war. Israel then occupied the Golan Heights, which continues to the present day. As a result of the war, the radical Ba'ath government was weakened. Throughout these years, Hafez al-Assad rose through the army and the Ba'ath party and became the minister of defense. In September 1970 Syria intervened militarily in Jordan supporting the Palestinian guerrillas fighting the Jordanian government. This created more divisions in the civilian and military wings of the Ba'ath party.
Takeover by Hafez al-Assad:
In November 1970, Hafez al-Assad took power in a bloodless military coup
power by making the Ba'ath party the only political party in Syria and appointing his supporters in all sectors of the government. He built up the Syrian army, which had suffered many defeats in recent years, and increased ties with the USSR.. Assad then really set his Assad’s rule was very autocratic. He suppressed political opposition through violence and created a strong cult of personality to increase his power over the whole country.
Under Assad, Syria achieved political stability for the first time since its independence. As a result, there was economic growth and the living standards of the Syrian people on the rise (Orbach, "The Rise of Bashar al-Asad"). Assad also established a state separate from religion with Arab aspirations. This has important political and social implications. Politically, the government was tolerant of the Syrian Christian minority, and supported other non-religious Arab governments such as Iraq. Socially, the government gave free public education for boys and girls, women were allowed to work in the government, and women didn’t have to wear a veil in public.
The political and social changes made by Assad created religious tensions with Syria’s 19 million population which had a higher percent of Sunni Muslims than Alawi Shiite Muslim (Kaplan, "Syria’s Ethnic and Religious Divisions"). The Assad family belongs to the Alawi, a Shiite Muslim sect. The few mostly Sunni Muslim countries are ruled by the Shiite minority, and so the Syrian Sunnis feel politically and socially oppressed by the Syrian Shiites.
Syria’s Involvement in foreign affairs:
In 1976 Syria intervened militarily in Lebanon’s civil war, starting a 30 year presence in Lebanon, initially supporting the Lebanese Christians, but then switching to support the Lebanese Shiites and Hezbollah (a Shiite militant group). Hafez al-
Assad talks about why he invaded Lebanon in the speech he made in July 1976. Syria also became a strong ally of Iran, after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. Iran was a Shiite country and Syria was controlled by the Shiite minority, so they needed each other’s support. Syria also needed a strong military ally after Egypt made peace with Israel.
Syria then supported Iran in the Iran – Iraq war in the 1980s. Syria was the only Arab country on Iran’s side, which created many political tensions in the Arab world. During this period there were internal conflict in Syria when the Sunni Muslims, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, rose against the government. Assad responded with a violent repression of all opposition which resulted in 10,000 deaths in 1982. (Collelo, "The Assad Era")
Syria and Iran had many strategic interest in common in Lebanon (which was occupied by Syria), against Israel, and now against Iraq. Syria and Iran also became supporters of terrorism to achieve their goals.
As we have seen, Syrian modern history has been impacted by interconnected global events such as the Cold War, the Israel Arab wars, the Palestinian conflict, the Iran revolution, and the Sunni/Shiite religious divide.
Videos
Here is a news section of a TV station in 1981 that talks about Syria's involvement in Lebanon:
Here is a video that goes over Syria's modern history:
Page make by Colin A.
Work Cited:
3D4D. "Syrian Balkanization." Deviant Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://3d4d.deviantart.com/art/Syrian-Balkanization-396955356>. Image of religious group's location/territory
"Bplakzucqaakdg8." Word Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://mediawerkgroepsyrie.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/an-appeal-against-attacking-syria/>. This is a quote by Hafez al-Assad
Collelo, Thomas. "The Assad Era." Library of Congress Country Studies. N.p., 1978. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sy0027)>. I used this source to gather more information on Assad and his time in power
- - -, ed. "World War II and Independence." Library of Congress Country Studies. N.p., Apr. 1987. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sy0019)>. I used this source to gather basic information on Syria's past from 1945-1990
"Hafez-al-assad." Council Foreign Relations. N.p., Nov. 1998. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://blogs.cfr.org/danin/2011/11/11/remembering-hafez-al-assad/>. A picture of Hafez Al Assad
Kaplan, Seth. "Syria’s Ethnic and Religious Divisions." Fragile States. http://monkeycmedia.com, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.fragilestates.org/2012/02/20/syrias-ethnic-and-religious-divides/>. I used this site to further my understanding of Syria's religious situation and how it could be related to influences out of the country
Orbach, Benjamin, and David Schenker. "The Rise of Bashar Al-Asad." The Washington Institute. N.p., 5 Mar. 1999. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-rise-of-bashar-al-asad>. I used this source to gain information about Hafez al-Assad
Pierpaoli, Paul G., Jr. "Syria." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. I used this source to gather general information about Syria and its history
ProCon.org. "Map - The Golan Heights" ProCon.org. 28 Apr. 2008. Web. 14 May. 2014. <http://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.background-resource.php?resourceID=000934>. Image of the Golan Heights region
"Syria_gdp_per_capita." The Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/29/syria-the-very-very-basics/>. This is an image of Syria's GDP from 1960-2010
"Syria - Valley of the Missiles - Thames Television." ITV. Thames Television. 6 Nov. 1981. YouTube. Web. 14 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih0aCHnjDko&feature=youtu.be>. This source contained a interview with Assad about interventions in Lebabon
"Uar-map." The Robinson Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/history/africa/egypt/history/uar.htm>. Image of the United Arab Republic